A Special Day for Stevie

26 Jun A Special Day for Stevie

Stephen Taylor Storms to Stockmanship Glory

Our National Stockmanship Programme is always a highlight of the Royal Highland Show and this year was no different with the competition (this year supported by Quality Meat Scotland- QMS ) not only showing a great standard across the board but also delivering one of the greatest individual performances from a competitor in many years. The day truly belonged to Stirlingshire’s own Stephen Taylor. In his final year of competition, Stevie (as he’s known to all) almost swept the board. Claiming top spot in both the Beef Individual and the Beef Pairs alongside fellow Clyde & Central competitor Robert Kennedy. Before ultimately being announced as this year’s Stockman of the Year, resulting in a massive roar of applause and appreciation throughout the gathered members, friends and fellow competitors.

Stevie was truly overcome by the moment:

“It was absolutely unbelievable, it’s the award I have always dreamed about winning, and hearing my name was a dream come true. Especially with my best friend James Graham winning it in 2024 and us being the first ever C&C members to have won Stockman of the Year back to back, and on my final year! It is something that will stay with me all my life.”

It has taken a long while for Stevie to reach this achievement and he took a moment to reflect on his Stockjudging journey over the years:

“I have been really fortunate to have had a few prizes throughout my 13 years of taking part in the program. 3 Beef Individual titles and 3 Beef Pairs as well as being part of 4 separate teams to lift the Glasgow Herald team trophy. I even claimed 3rd in Stockman of the Year back in 2018. And then of course winning the dream trophy.
One thing I would say to anyone doing stockjudging is if that is your dream to do, well chase it and never give up.
I’d also like to give a massive thank you to all my trainers throughout that time who have taught and guided me over the years, it wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

As mentioned before, this year’s competition was kindly supported by Quality Meat Scotland. We would like to thank Sarah Millar, Chief Executive who was kind enough to present the trophies on Saturday night, she had this to say on the programme’s importance to our members and to the sector:

“QMS was absolutely honoured to support this year’s SAYFC Stockmanship Programme which is one of the lynchpins of the Scottish red meat sector, playing a vital role in developing lifelong skills among our young stockmen and stockwomen. A key part of our Meating Our Potential campaign is about inspiring and supporting the development of the next generation, who are essential to keeping Scotland’s livestock sector at the forefront of red meat production. It was a special moment to see Stevie Taylor — who has trained for over a decade for this — lift the trophy: a well-deserved accolade and a fantastic achievement.”

There were plenty of other the winners on the night. The top prized team in the junior competition went to Ayrshire A, with team member Gregor Brown of Crossroads claiming the honours in the individual competition. Gregor, 15, spoke about winning the title and the teamwork involved,

“I was really surprised and delighted to win the Junior Stockmanship. I have enjoyed going to the practises and have learned so much from the trainers and from the rest of the team.”

Maybe Gregor will be someone to watch in future years as he continues his Stockmanship journey.

In the Senior team competition it was also Ayrshire A who lifted the prized Glasgow Herald Trophy. Team member Rory Scott also picked up the Individual prize in the Dairy Section:

“To win the Dairy Individual against such high calibre competition is an absolute honour and I can only thank my trainers for this, but for also making me part of such a great team of lads to lift the herald with, what a feeling!”

A full list of all our prize winners from the day can be found below.

Well done to all our prize winners and a massive thank you to everyone who attended our prize giving. The energy and support from the gathered members, family and friends is truly what the Young Farmers movement is all about.

Thanks also to all our members, staff and volunteers who help run this competition. Their involvement was summed up nicely by our new Stockman of the Year:

“The Stockmanship programme takes one hell of amount of work and organisation so it does, and it really is a credit to SAYFC staff, the Stockmanship committee along with all the breeders who are kind enough to provide the stock whether that’s in the morning or afternoon. Hats off to yous all.”

STOCKMANSHIP PROGRAMME (sponsored by QMS)

JUNIOR STOCKJUDGING COMPETITION – TEAM

3^rd– (707) – Ayrshire C, Cameron Barkley, Finley Barkley, Robbie Mitchell

2^nd – (728) – Angus Tayside A, Rory Wood, Frankie Hood, Charlie Simpson

1st and winners of the Lawrie and Symington Salver – (730) – Ayrshire A, Kyle Scott, Gregor Brown, Fraser Sloan

JUNIOR INDIVIDUAL STOCKJUDGING

3^rd – (259) – Jessie MacDougall, Clyde and Central

2^nd – (261) – Charlie Simpson, Angus Tayside A

1^st – (262) – Gregor Brown, Ayrshire A

SENIOR STOCKJUDGING

CHANG Trophy for Best Pair in the Dairy Section – (547) – Alisa Buchanan, Douglas Buchanan, Dumfries and Galloway

Morphie Trophy for the Best Pair in the Beef Section – (542) – Robert Kennedy, Stephen Taylor Clyde and Central A

NFU Trophy for Best Pair in the Sheep Section – (537) Tom Flett, Marcus Scholes, Orkney

INDIVIDUALS

Best Individual in Dairy Section – (282) – Rory Scott, Ayrshire A

Best Individual in Beef Section – (279) – Stephen Taylor, Clyde and Central A

Best Individual in Sheep Section – YUILL WALKER TROPHY –  (281) – Marcus Scholes, Orkney

BEST TEAM

3^rd – (1548) – Clyde & Central A– Murray Steel, Kathryn Dick, Robert Kennedy, Stephen Taylor, Jessie MacDougall, Logan Ross

2^nd – (1564) – Dumfries & Galloway – Ailsa Buchanan, Douglas Buchanan, Thomas Goldie, Scott Service, Angus McClymont, Rachel Barr

1^st AND WINNERS OF THE GLASGOW HERALD TROPHY – (1601) – Ayrshire A, Rory Scott, Kyle Scott, Daniel Hodge, Harry Bell, Scott Anderson, Alexander Mitchell

STOCKMAN OF THE YEAR

3^rd – (569) – Robbie Meikle, Avondale

2^nd – (588) – Daniel Hodge, Mauchline

1^st – (603) – Stephen Taylor, SSS

Junior Scores    Senior Scores    Stockman of the Year Scores

We were delighted to be joined by ninety-four young stockjudgers from America who competed in their own competition alongside our members throughout the morning. It’s always enlightening to hear their thoughts on our format of the competition and to see their unique delivery and style when presenting their reasons to the judges. Their full scoresheets can be found below:

USA Beef & Sheep Scores    USA Dairy Scores